


can't solve it (how i feel about you)

by thegrandoptimist



Series: 8bit romance [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural, Cuddling & Snuggling, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Supernatural Elements, Unresolved Romantic Tension, let's play au, rated for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 09:02:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12908679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegrandoptimist/pseuds/thegrandoptimist
Summary: "Why does your cousin have ghost hunting equipment?" Mark finally interrupts, brows furrowed."There are more important things to focus on, Mark Lee!"  He scolds, folding his arms across his chest.  "Like how dumb Youngho's face is going to look when we prank him back!"[or: Youngho tries to prank Mark and maybe releases a ghost in the process.]





	can't solve it (how i feel about you)

**Author's Note:**

> hey i originally was writing this to post for halloween but full time student with a part time job????? i'm lucky to sit down and write five words at a time tbh  
> but !!!! i really wanted to do a buzzfeed unsolved inspired markhyuck fic and in the lpau saje and i have, there was a running joke about johnny pretending to haunt mark. thus! this fic was born! it's maybe a little rushed/poorly paced because it was supposed to just be a drabble and not like 4k long??? whoops
> 
> it technically takes place in the same au as [this fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7424278) but you totally don't need to read it if you're not into svt.
> 
> this is unbeta'ed so i apologize for any mistakes!

It all starts with Youngho pretending to haunt Mark's apartment.  He sneaks in, with the key Mark had given him, and moves every piece of furniture exactly two inches to the left.  He also isn't very subtle about it, posting a very public vlog about his attempted haunting.

Mark, however, doesn't notice anything different.  He _is_ stubbing his toes and bruising his shins a lot more frequently than he had been before, but he takes it as his clumsiness getting worse due to stress.  When Youngho doesn't get the reaction he's looking for, he decides to kick it up a notch.

Using red paint, Youngho reaches up to the top of Mark's bathroom mirror and in the messiest, drippiest handwriting he could muster, sprawls the words _take a nap_ there.

Mark, being an exhausted student, still doesn't notice.

Youngho anxiously waits each day, hoping to see Mark slightly unnerved or annoyed or anything, but the day never comes.  Mark just continues to be his usual cheerful self, undereye bags still dark, a can of Monster always in hand.

So much for being a friendly ghost.

\---

Donghyuck decides to spend the weekend two weeks after Youngho's attempted haunting.  It's the first time his schedule actually matches with Mark's in weeks so he had been adamant that the two were going to hang out.

They eat two and a half pizzas between the two of them and Mark downs three Monsters over the course of the evening.  That doesn't stop the older boy from falling asleep halfway through the first scary movie of what was supposed to be an all night marathon.  Donghyuck just sighs, grabs a spare blanket from Mark's closet, and tucks him in.

Donghyuck makes his way into Mark's bathroom, ready to scrub the leftover taste of pizza and soda out of his mouth when he spots it: the red, dripping words sprawled across the upper part of Mark's mirror.  Is this what Youngho had been giggling about for the last two weeks?  Donghyuck just sighs, brushes his teeth, and heads off into Mark's room to sleep in Mark's bed.  He'll deal with that in the morning.

\---

Donghyuck wakes up before Mark does, which really makes the younger boy worry about how little sleep Mark has been getting lately.  He goes about making breakfast for the two of them with the little food remaining in Mark's fridge.

Donghyuck is mid-sip of his coffee when Mark finally stumbles into the kitchen, eyebags finally a shade or two lighter.  He mumbles something that might be _good morning_.

"Finally taking your ghost's advice?" Donghyuck asks with a chuckle, putting his mug down on the counter.

Mark blinks slowly, like he still isn't awake enough to process the words he just heard. "My what?"

"Your little ghostie.  The writing on your bathroom mirror?"  There is no way Mark hasn't seen it, right?  Youngho wasn't even subtle about it, Donghyuck had checked his YouTube account last night to see multiple vlogs about his attempt at haunting.

Mark tilts his head to the side in confusion before he turns on his heel to investigate the bathroom.  Then, in quick succession, Donghyuck hears three things.

The bathroom light switch turn on.

A shriek.

" _What the fuck?_ "

\---

"You're not really being haunted," Donghyuck reassures Mark once he finally stops screaming.  To be fair, none of Donghyuck's comforting words are what quiet Mark down; it's the threat of accidentally disturbing the old woman who lives beneath him that finally gets him to shut up.  "Besides, ghosts aren't real."

"How do you know that?" Mark asks, voice shrill and panicked.  He hasn't stopped pacing his kitchen since he came out of the bathroom.  Donghyuck is certain if he inspects the ground close enough, he'll see indents from Mark's heavy steps.

Donghyuck watches the older boy incredulously.  "You really didn't notice that sooner?" Any attempts at being an understanding friend flew out the window when Donghyuck realized how oblivious to everything Mark truly was.  "Youngho has been boasting about this for weeks."

The way Mark suddenly stops pacing is almost comical, like there should be the cartoonish squeak of brakes playing behind him.  "Youngho _what_?"

\---

"I'm going to kill him," Mark declares with a straight face as Youngho's vlog comes to an end.

"He's got too many fans, they'll get mad at you," Donghyuck reasons.  He's seen firsthand after jokingly insulting Youngho on Instagram that there are a hoard of teenagers ready to fight tooth and nail for Youngho.  Donghyuck doesn't see the appeal.  "Besides, he's just milking you for views.  You should do the same to him."

"But I don't- you know I don't use my YouTube channel," Mark splutters, slightly embarrassed.  Both boys know that the only thing on Mark's account are his subscriptions to his friends' channels as well as some embarrassing freestyle rap and dance videos from when he was fourteen.  It is not something to be proud of.

"Yeah, you don't, but _I_ do," Donghyuck reminds him.  His own YouTube audience had been steadily growing as he posted more and more reaction videos and vocal covers; that said, he feels no qualms in milking Youngho for every ounce of attention he could get.  "Just think of it as a chance to get back at him."

"Yeah, but how?  Playing into this just means that his prank worked."

"You have no creativity," Donghyuck sighs dramatically.  "You need to make Youngho think it worked too well!  Make it seem like your apartment is actually haunted now or something.  My cousin has a bunch of ghost hunting equipment I can borrow and we can film the whole thing.  We'll fake it, of course, and then when Youngho realizes that he has accidentally unleashed some hell spawn into your apartment, he'll have to apologize, and then we turn it around on him!  After he promotes our video, of course.  Afterall, I deserve- I mean, _we_ deserve as many subscribers as he has and it's only fair for him to-"

Mark isn't sure how Donghyuck is still going, a seemingly endless supply of air fueling his stream of consciousness.

"Why does your cousin have ghost hunting equipment?" Mark finally interrupts, brows furrowed.

The only word to describe the look Donghyuck gives him is appalled, as if it's a crime to even question the strange fact.

"There are more important things to focus on, Mark Lee!"  He scolds, folding his arms across his chest.  "Like how dumb Youngho's face is going to look when we prank him back!"

\---

Mark and Donghyuck are in the middle of lunch when they spot Youngho approaching, Taeyong and Jaehyun trotting along behind him.  Mark greets the trio kindly, only to receive a swift elbow to the side via Donghyuck.  The younger boy wiggles his eyebrows, gesturing towards Youngho, but his message is lost to Mark.

After an exasperated sigh, Donghyuck turns to the trio. "So Mark and I were just talking about how his apartment is haunted!"  He prompts, staring pointedly at Youngho.

Jaehyun snorts and not-so-subtly nudges Youngho.  "Is that so?"

It takes a few seconds and Donghyuck has to kick at Mark's ankle, but finally the boy nods.  "Oh yeah, it's getting really bad.  At first it was just small stuff, like moving furniture a little bit.  Then messages starting appearing on my bathroom mirror!"

To Mark's credit, his wide eyes and raised brows really work to sell the idea of fear.  Donghyuck can see the way Youngho's chest seems to puff out with pride as Mark goes on.  There's a brief pause on Mark's end and it's clear that Youngho is ready to declare _gotcha!_ when Donghyuck cuts in.

"Now there's even stuff getting knocked over and falling off the walls!"  He exclaims.  "When I was over last weekend, I swear there was even a creepy voice that kept whispering my name."

Mark nods along enthusiastically.  "Hyuck and I are getting some ghost equipment to see if we can communicate with the spirit and make it stop."

"I kept trying to tell Mark that ghosts aren't real, but I can't deny what I've seen happen there!  If it gets worse, we'll probably have to exercise his apartment or something!"

Through the entire story, Youngho visibly shrinks further and further into his seat, face looking more and more guilty with each passing second.  Taeyong and Jaehyun both turn to look at him in confusion, similar looks of guilt and concern on their faces.

"That sounds uh, really spooky, kid," Youngho manages to say.  He then quickly glances at his wrist, pretending to check the time even though his wrist is bare.  "Well would you look at the time!  I just realized I have to go do a thing I had forgotten about.  Good luck with your ghost!"

With that, Youngho is gone in the blink of an eye, leaving the four boys at the table to look at one another in confusion.

\---

It's only a few days after that when Donghyuck gets a package from his cousin.  It is packed full of what his cousin refers to as the _ghost hunting essentials_.  Donghyuck just calls it all bullshit.

Donghyuck walks Mark through all of the equipment, explaining what each piece is thought to do.  The skepticism in his voice is clear.  It's a lot of basic items: an EMF detector, dowsing rods, as well as a variety of crystals and charms.

"Hyuck, why do you know about all this stuff if you don't believe in ghosts?" Mark asks, holding the EMF detector close to his face as he inspects the thing.

"Because my cousin is a wannabe ghostbuster," Donghyuck rolls his eyes and snatches the device back from Mark before the older boy can drop it.  "He used to take me on his ghost hunts when we were younger and nothing _ever_ happened.  Therefore, no ghosts."

He quickly returns to explaining the uses of all of the items his cousin sent, throwing in remarks on how to fake a ghost with them.  When he finishes, he glances at everything in front of him and taps his chin in thought.

"Is it overkill to use a Ouija board?" He wonders aloud.

Mark drops the dowsing rod he was holding and starts to scream immediately.  "There is no way in hell you're bringing one of those hell spawners into my apartment!  No!  Absolutely not!"

"Oh come on, you don't really think ghosts are _real_ , do you?"  Donghyuck drawls.  Mark pouts, crossing his arms defensively.  It's all the answer he needs.  "Mark.  Mark _please_.  It's a piece of cardboard sold by _Hasbro_.  What could possibly go wrong?"

"I draw the line at Ouija board."

\---

Much to Donghyuck's disappointment, Mark wins the Ouija board argument.  The night of their filming finds both of them with only the Ghosthunter Approved™ items, as Mark has taken to calling them.

The beginning of the video is nicely rehearsed and sets the tone for how the entire video will go; Mark explains the experiences of his alleged hauntings while Donghyuck provides snide remarks.

They start off simple and walk around the apartment, appropriately lit only by candlelight, asking basic questions in hopes of a response.  There are a few muffled sounds and some creaking sounds, but it is nothing that can't be explained by the fact that Mark lives in a public apartment building with neighbors on all sides of him.

"Is there a spirit haunting this apartment?" Donghyuck asks into the void, watching Mark squirm next to him.

Much to Donghyuck's surprise and Mark's horror, the EMF detector they'd left on the table begins to go off, beeping aggressively.  Donghyuck tries his best not to laugh at Mark's despairing _what the fuck._

They move to the bathroom, the alleged source of all the haunting.  It takes a few minutes to get all the cameras reorganized, focusing in on the bathroom instead of the rest of the apartment.  The EMF detector continues to go off the entire time, creating a dull static of background noise.

"Is there anyone here with us?" Donghyuck voices into the emptyness of Mark's bathroom.  Seemingly in direct response, the EMF detector begins to beep more aggressively.

"Why is it doing that?" Mark squawks, looking at the device in absolute horror.

Donghyuck just rolls his eyes.  "Because these things go off if the wind blows too hard?  I'm sure it's nothing."

Mark hisses in despair, but allows Donghyuck to continue with his investigation.  The investigation, however, does not get any better for Mark.  The EMF detector refuses to stop beeping, to the point where Donghyuck even threatens to "throw the busted thing out the window."  Only the threat of owing his cousin money stops him from breaking it.

"Why don't you try asking some questions, Mark?" Donghyuck finally asks, tired of leading the entire thing on his own.  He points to Mark's flashlight.  "See if it can do anything with the flashlight!"

With a trembling hand, Mark places his flashlight down on the counter, watching it roll back and forth.  He takes a heavy breath as if to steady himself before he speaks.  "If there is anyone here with us, make the flashlight turn off."

There's a long pause, the only sounds in the room are the EMF detector and the wobbling noise of the flashlight.  Donghyuck is ready to move on when, as if on cue, the flashlight clicks off.

"Oh, what the fuck!" Mark yells loudly.  Donghyuck can't help the laughter that bubbles out of him.  The flashlight wobbles a little more, still not finding balance on the uneven slope of Mark's countertop, and the light clicks back on.  "I hate this!"

Donghyuck laughs harder.  "It's just the faulty battery pack," he explains, holding up his own flashlight.  "You can't wiggle the bottom around too much or they turn off immediately."

To demonstrate, Donghyuck taps the bottom of his flashlight a few times before the light clicks off.  He taps it again and the light turns on once again.

"This is the worst experience of my life, you know," Mark grumbles, begrudgingly picking his flashlight up again.  Donghyuck laughs once more, but eventually takes pity on his friend.

"We definitely have enough footage if you want to stop here?" He offers quietly.

Mark can tell from the tone of Donghyuck's voice that he's being sincere.  It's that soft tone he only uses when they're alone, when Donghyuck is worried about something.  His stomach flutters at the thought of Donghyuck worrying about him like this.  He finds himself nodding, albeit a bit heistantly.  He doesn't want to seem so scared in front of his friend, but he really doesn't want to keep going.

"Well folks, there you have it.  Were all of these events the sign of ghosts still lingering?  Or was it all an unfortunate coincidence?" Donghyuck turns directly to the camera, clearly wrapping up the video.  "We might never know the truth.  Which means that for now, the mystery of whether or not Mark's apartment is haunted will remain unsolved."

\---

"Hyuck, why did so much ghost stuff go off?  My apartment isn't _really_ haunted, is it?"  Mark asks as soon as filming ends.  The same frightened expression he had worn during filming is still on his face; there's a moment of realization for Donghyuck that the older boy legitimately is afraid.  "I can't stay in a haunted apartment!"

Donghyuck reaches out and grabs both of Mark's hands in his own, squeezing them reassuringly.  "Ghosts are fake and all this equipment is faulty science.  There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of."

The only thing Donghyuck is afraid of is how close Mark's face is to his own and how hard his heart is beating in his chest, like it's threatening to break through his ribs at any moment.

"But Hyuck…" Mark trails off with a pout, pulling on their interlocked hands so that their bodies are even closer together.  "Can I just crash at your place?  Just for a few nights?"

Donghyuck slips his hands out of Mark's grasp and shoves the older boy away from him.  Any closer together and Donghyuck is certain he would have heard the hammering of his heart.  "You're such a wimp!" He teases.  "But out of the absolute goodness of my heart, I will let you stay at my apartment.  At least until we finish editing the video."

\---

Donghyuck would be lying if he said he wasn't intentionally editing slowly.  Mark is on day three of living in Donghyuck's apartment and the younger boy is starting to get used to his constant presence.  They don't see each other much during the day, busy with classes and Mark's part time job, but nights have become their perfect hang out time.  Donghyuck makes meals for the two and they spend the evenings watching shitty television and sipping beers together.

Donghyuck is so busy hanging out with Mark that he doesn't even have time to edit their video.

All good things must come to an end, and on night four, Mark asks to watch Donghyuck edit the video, claiming to be curious about the entire process.  Bitterly, he agrees.

To Donghyuck's delight, however, the editing process takes infinitely longer than it would if he were alone.  Mark is curious, asking questions about the program and arguing with Donghyuck about which clips they should use.  Before either of them realizes, it's nearly three in the morning and the video is barely halfway edited.

It's excuse enough for Mark to crash at Donghyuck's apartment once again, the two boys curled up in Donghyuck's too small bed.  The feeling is getting all too familiar for Donghyuck, making the impending end more and more worrisome.

Donghyuck wakes up before Mark, as he usually does.  Mark has nearly all of his limbs wrapped tightly around Donghyuck's body, and the younger boy gives himself a moment to bask in the warmth of his best friend before worming his way out of the death-grip Mark has on him.  He goes about his morning routine, making himself his usual morning coffee, though now with some extra for Mark.  Coffee mug in hand, Donghyuck heads off to his computer to continue working on the video.

An hour later, Donghyuck jumps when he feels a pair of arms wrap around him.  He turns to find a sleepy-eyed Mark, chin resting on Donghyuck's shoulder.

"How's editing going?"  He asks, voices raspy with sleep.  His body is warm where it presses against Donghyuck's and the younger boy needs to turn away to hide the blush in his cheeks.

"It was going a lot faster without you around to distract me," Donghyuck sneers, still not looking at Mark.  "It should be done in a few hours at most."

"Does this mean I have to move back to my own apartment now?"

Donghyuck snorts loudly.  "Yes, I want my bed back.  You're like an octopus when you sleep, you know that?"

"I don't hear you complaining about it now," Mark states, squeezing his arms tighter around Donghyuck's waist.  The younger boy squeaks in shock, but he can't manage to think of a single comeback.  At his resounding silence, Mark chuckles.  "That's what I thought."

He lets up on the teasing, allowing Donghyuck to return to video editing.  They sit in silence until Donghyuck realizes that Mark has dozed off.  His breathing has grown steady and rhythmic, head still resting against Donghyuck's shoulders.  All Donghyuck can do is sigh contentedly, continuing his work while he basks in the comfort Mark provides.

\---

It takes exactly eight hours after posting the video before Youngho begins pounding on Donghyuck's apartment door, countless apologies spilling from his mouth.  He blows past Donghyuck when he opens the door and immediately rushes to Mark.

Donghyuck is almost too annoyed at being interrupted to even enjoy the sorry look on Youngho's face.  He had made Mark and himself a nice dinner for a change; he could almost pretend the two of them were on a date.  A date that Youngho was _not_ invited to.

"Mark, it was me!  I'm so sorry, it was me!"  Youngho spews out.  "I pretended to haunt your apartment!  It was a stupid prank but I think I might have unleashed a real ghost in your apartment and I'm so sorry!"

"We know," Mark says casually, mouth stuffed full of spaghetti.  He barely even spares Youngho a glance, more focused on his food.

"I know you'll probably never forgive me but- wait, what do you mean _you_ _know_?" The look on his face is absolutely worth all the trouble they went through.  His mouth forms a perfect _o_ shape and his eyebrows are raised up towards his hairline.  It's at this point that Donghyuck realizes Youngho is wearing the ugly flame-painted Crocs a fan had given him, making his entire appearance even more absurd.  "What the fuck? _You knew?"_

"Donghyuck knew," Mark explains nonchalantly, shoving more spaghetti into his mouth.  "This was all just payback."

Youngho immediately turns on Donghyuck, who has been standing in the kitchen doorway with his arms crossed; instead of the pitiful look he'd been giving Mark, Youngho looks at Donghyuck with something akin to murder.  Before he can even react, Youngho has him trapped in a headlock.

"You little fucker!" He yells, digging his knuckles into Donghyuck's scalp.  The younger boy's squawks of protests are only met with a harsher noogie.  He can't believe he's getting noogied while he stares down at a pair of Crocs.  "You ruined my prank!"

"I will not let you take advantage of Mark for views!" Donghyuck chokes out from Youngho's death grip.  (" _Thank you!_ " Mark calls out from the dinner table.)  "Not without me also profiting for it!"

At that, Youngho finally releases him and Donghyuck can see the look of betrayal on Mark's face across the room.

"You raise a fair point, kid.  If Mark's gonna suffer, we should all benefit," Youngho muses.  Mark lets out a choked noise, surprised his friends are talking about him with so little regard.  "Alright, I'll boost your video all you want.  But I swear to God I'll doxx you if you ever ruin a prank again."

Donghyuck rubs at his head, still tender from Youngho's knuckles.  "Understood."

With that, Youngho nods and takes a step back, moving towards the doorway.  "Well, sorry for crashing your date," Youngho declares, strolling back towards Donghyuck's apartment door.  "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone then."

"We're not lovebirds!"

"This isn't a date!"

The two boys shout out at the same time, only to be meet with the sound of Youngho slamming the front door shut.  They blush when they make eye contact afterwards, and the rest of dinner is eaten in relative silence.

\---

Mark does eventually return to living in his own apartment, much to Donghyuck's disappointment.  With the big reveal to Youngho over, there is no real reason to continue staying over.  The younger boy can't even justify protesting it, considering his clear stance that Mark's apartment wasn't haunted.

Donghyuck doesn't like how quiet it is without Mark, though.

He does, however, love the ever increasing amount of subscribers making their way over from Youngho's account.

You win some, you lose some, Donghyuck supposes.

Two weeks after Youngho's apology, Donghyuck finds himself getting lunch with Youngho.  They've been going back and forth for thirty minutes on a new video editing software when Mark suddenly arrives at their table.

"Tell Taeyong he's not allowed to give you his spare key anymore," Mark tells Youngho in lieu of a greeting.

"What?" Is all Youngho can respond with.

"The whole haunting joke is really old at this point," Mark tells him with a straight face, before a slight smile crosses his features.  "But thanks for reminding me about my exam today, I would have forgotten otherwise!"

"Wait, I didn't-"

Mark then turns to Donghyuck with a warm smile.  "I'll see you later, Hyuckie," he says, and then he's gone.

"I didn't haunt you this time!" Youngho calls loudly after Mark, but the boy is already out of earshot.  He turns to Donghyuck, eyebrows furrowed.  "I seriously didn't do anything this time."

Donghyuck frowns.  "You didn't?  Mark sent me a picture of writing on his mirror this morning.  We both thought it was you."

Donghyuck shows Youngho the picture: Mark's mirror had been sprawled with the same drippy red writing Youngho had used.  This time, the message read ' _exam at 2pm_ '.  The polite and helpful manner of the message is what made the two boys assume it was Youngho, considering his previous reminder to _take a nap._

"But if I didn't write it, then does that mean…" Youngho trails off, though the implication of what he was going to say is clear.  Donghyuck still doesn't believe in ghosts, but it's hard for him to come up with any other excuse for this.

"I guess the case of Mark's apartment haunting really _will_ remain unsolved."

 

 

"By the way, Mark's puppy crush is getting really gross.  When is he finally going to ask you out?"

Donghyuck squeaks in embarrassment, flushing immediately.  "Also unsolved!"

**Author's Note:**

> hopefully with winter break and some time off from work, i'll be able to write more! i've got a few ideas in mind but no guarantees of when anything will be written. i'd also like to write more little drabbles of markhyuck going on ghost adventures, because i feel like they fit the buzzfeed unsolved dynamic so well. again, no guarantees on when anything will come out, though.
> 
> until next time, feel free to find me:  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/jjeonghyuk) // [tumblr](http://seonyein.tumblr.com/) // [nct sideblog](https://00dnghyck.tumblr.com/)  
> ♡♡♡


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